Defenceman Francois Groleau played a few games for the Montreal Canadiens in the 90s. He was a fine playmaker and point man on the power play in junior and the minors. He also found success in the German League after things did not work out in the NHL.

Born in Longueuil, Quebec, Groleau was taken 41st overall by the Calgary Flames in 1991 while he was in the midst of a fine junior career. Overall he registered 257 points in four QMJHL seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes and St-Jean Lynx. Since Calgary had a number of quality NHL defencemen, Groleau spent his first two pro seasons with the Saint John Flames of the AHL. He was acquired by the Quebec Nordiques in March, 1995 but only saw duty with the club's minor league affiliate.

After signing with the Habs as a free agent in July, 1995, saw a bit of NHL action but was a regular on the Fredericton Canadiens of the AHL. In 1998-99 he played for Germany's Augsburger EV before returning to the AHL the following season. Unable to attract the interest of any NHL clubs, Groleau returned to the Bundesliga in 2000-01 and provided offense and stability to the Adler Mannheim team.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1988-89

Ste-Foy Gouverneurs

QAAA

42

3

24

27

42

13

1

7

8

28

1989-90

Shawinigan Cataractes

QMJHL

65

11

54

65

80

6

0

1

1

12

1990-91

Shawinigan Cataractes

QMJHL

70

9

60

69

70

6

0

3

3

2

1991-92

Shawinigan Cataractes

QMJHL

65

8

70

78

74

10

5

15

20

8

1992-93

Shawinigan Cataractes

QMJHL

33

4

24

28

50

1992-93

St-Jean Lynx

QMJHL

15

3

14

17

16

4

0

1

1

14

1993-94

Saint John Flames

AHL

73

8

14

22

49

7

0

1

1

2

1994-95

Saint John Flames

AHL

65

6

34

40

28

1994-95

Cornwall Aces

AHL

8

1

2

3

7

14

2

7

9

16

1995-96

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

2

0

1

1

2

+2

1995-96

San Francisco Spiders

IHL

63

6

26

32

60

1995-96

Fredericton Canadiens

AHL

12

3

5

8

10

10

1

6

7

14

1996-97

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

5

0

0

0

4

0

1996-97

Fredericton Canadiens

AHL

47

8

24

32

43

1997-98

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

1

0

0

0

0

+1

1997-98

Fredericton Canadiens

AHL

63

14

26

40

70

+8

4

0

2

2

4

1998-99

Augsburger Panther

Germany

52

9

21

30

67

5

0

4

4

4

1999-00

Quebec Citadelles

AHL

63

7

24

31

48

-7

3

0

2

2

0

2000-01

Adler Mannheim

Germany

59

2

16

18

52

4

0

0

0

2

2001-02

Adler Mannheim

Germany

60

2

7

9

72

12

1

1

2

10

2002-03

Adler Mannheim

Germany

43

2

8

10

56

8

0

2

2

6

2003-04

Adler Mannheim

Germany

52

2

20

22

58

6

1

0

1

4

2004-05

Adler Mannheim

Germany

40

1

6

7

42

14

0

1

1

32

2005-06

Fuchse Duisburg

Germany

32

1

14

15

34

5

0

2

2

4

2006-07

EHC Linz

Austria

56

4

33

37

110

3

0

1

1

0

2007-08

EHC Linz

Austria

46

4

18

22

54

11

2

4

6

16

NHL Totals

8

0

1

1

6

QMJHL Second All-Star Team (1990) QMJHL - Defensive Rookie of the Year) (1990) QMJHL First All-Star Team (1992)

Traded to Quebec by Calgary for Ed Ward, March 23, 1995. Signed as a free agent by Montreal, June 17, 1995.